English Extracts. THE GREAT WESTERN IN A HURRICANE. From the " Watchman." October 2l.

New Zealander, Volume 2, Issue 98, 17 April 1847, Page 1

English Extracts. THE GREAT WESTERN IN A HURRICANE. From the " Watchman." October 21.

The following is a detailed account of a terrible storm encountered by the Great Western, on her outward voyage :— The Great JVestern sailed from Liverpool on the 12th tilt , with 126 passengers and a crew oi 85. The storm commenced on the evening of Satimlav, the 9th. On Sunday the sea rose frightfully, the sails were split, and the vessel was running under bare poles. At 1 1 o'clock that forenoon, a heavy sea broke over the fote part of the larboard wheel-house, or paddle-box, which started the ice-house and large iron lifeboat from there ftisten- . ings, ami washed them to leeward, and with much dif- , ficultythey were temporarily secured. At halt-past 1 1 the square sails blew away from the yards. The lee quarter boats were torn from the davits by a heavy lee ■-lurch of the ship, bending the davits, tearing out the ringbolts from their steins and sterns. At noon, storm and sea raging in all their fury, sea still breaking over the ship ; a heavy sea strack the larboard paddle-box and smashed it to atom's^ ; sprung the spring beam, breaking the under half; shattered the parts of the ship attached thereto. A splinter struck the captain on the head while standing on the poop, and the force of the blow, together witli the sea, carried him over the lee quarter, and he was only saved by the nettings. Alter this sea had passed over, the water gained on the pumps ; the wind appeared to lull a little, and the ship a litilu easier, but still blowing a storm. All the hatches, except those made use of for passing into the engine room,, were battened down, and the skylights partially covered. Ihe weather continued the same until midnight, at which time it lulled for half an hour. , Again the storm arose. The wind howled, roared, and bellowed, like the constant maturings oi the thunder cloud. Huge waves of tremendous height and volume rose in mad display arojud the ship, threatening every moment to break over her amidships and crush ' the vessel., Sea after sea striking her with terrific noise caused the gallant ship to stop for un instant, tremble and shake m every timber from her stem to her sternpost, reeling and lurching, tossed to and fro: again would she gather fresh strength, and with her wheels half hid in the wild water, again aud again receive the thundering blows of an clement that seemed sinned for destruction. The sails on the yards, strongly se-, * cured by ropes and gaskets, were blown from their furls and streamed out to leeward in ribbons. But all this was uothing. j About oue, p.m , whilst most of the pne«p»gers were seated in u^omt>iug suspense iv the lower cabin, holding fast to the tables and settees, a sea struck the vessel, and a tremendous crash was heard on deck. Instantly the cabiu was darkened, aud torrents of water . came pouring through the skylights. Scarcely had the waters reached the floor, when all in the cabins and state rooms sprang to their feet, and simultaneously, as if by concert, the ladies uttered 11 scream ot agony, j so painful, so fearful, so despairing, the sound of it will ' never be forgotten. Several fainted—others clasped their hands in mute despair, whilst many called aloud upon their Creator. I The crash was caused by the tearing up of the benches and other wood-work on the quarter-deck. These were hurled with violence against the skylights by the same sea which broke the windows of the saloon, drenching the berths on the larboard side, driving out the affrighted occupants, whilst it smashed by its weight the glass of the main cabin, and thus forced its way below. This \ was a period of intense emotion. So violent were the shocks of the vessel, although firmly braced, it was with great dificulty the passengers could prevent them- j selves being hurled from their seats, and dashed with { such violence against a part of the vessel as to endanger life or limb. Many received severe contusions and bruises, notwithstanding all their dibits. It was an awful hour. The most thoughtless cowered in their hearts before a danger which none but a fool or a brute would have mocked, and all therefore accepted the invitation to meet in the cabin for prayer. The Rev. Mr. Marsh read the lO7th Psalm. The Key. Dr, Smucker prayed. The Roy. Dr. Beecher made a few solemn remarks. The Rev. Dr. lialch repeated the words oi Our Saviour, " Let not your heart be troubled ; ye believe in God, believe also in me," commenting briefly on their consoling import, and then inviting all present to join with him in prayer ; after which he pronounced the Apostolic Benediction The wind, far fiom abating, was on the increase, the lulls in the storm being less frequent, and the squalls if anything less terr ific The whole ocean was one sea of foam, lashing up iuto terrible waves, wild and angry, whilst the spray • and \Viild seemed driven through the rigging and over ', the ship, as if, with demoniacal power. As darkness came, clustered together in the cabin, the passengers all thought and reflected on their fate. Most if not all of them, had given themselves up for lost. For what ' with the heavy labouring of the bhip, the terrible noise and howling pf the wind, the continued frequent thumpings of the sea, the quivering and shaking of the groan ing timbers, the carrying away of so many portions of the vessel's upper works, and the knowledge that they weref perhaps for another night, to be exposed to the full power ot a raging hurricane, left little to hone for. ', Jn the evening about nine o'clock, the Rev. Mr. Balch, at the request of several passengers, administered the Holy Communion in the cabin to upwards of sixty pi'rsoni, many of whom received'it there for the first time in their'hves. Several applied to him as to the propriety of their embracing that occasion to fulfil a long cherished purpose of their hearts, but which like many other " goud thoughts," had been deferred to a more " convenient season." They all 'communicated together with others of almost every creed and nation, thus reminding us o1o 1 the promise of Scripture,'" They shall conic from the east and west, the north and the south, and sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God." It was a most solemn scene. — Mr. Batch, first read the service appointed for a storm

at sea, utter wlucli the whole Communion otlice. The terrible conflict of the elements, which raged without, was rendered yet more striking by the impressive stillness which pervaded that company of Chnst's disciples within. Gathered around the table, they 1 cceived, with hearts deeply moved, tlie consecrated emblems of the Redeemer's body and blood. All felt comlorted by the blessed ordinance of grace. Many a bosom, before tossed with fear, was now tranquil, through faith.— Once more all renewed their vows, and realised the peace of God shed abroad in their hearts, and felt, with a vividness, perhaps never before known, "Your life is hid with Christ in God." Oh ! it was a night and a communion long to be remembered ! # On Monday noon, the storm ceased ; butthe sea continued more violent till two p.m., at which time it ceased gradually with the wind —having lasted 36 hours ; during which time the officers and crew conducted themselves- with great coolness and presence ol mind. On Tuesday morning all assembled in the cabin to render an act of common prayer aud thanksgiving.— The Rev. Dr. SmucUer read a psalm, and the Rev. Dr. Ueecher addressed the passengers at length and with much force on the mercy they had experienced, »nd prayer was offered After the services were ended, the passengers drew up a resolution expressive of thanks to Almighty God for their deliverance, and also a most complimentary address to the captain and officers of the ship. They subscribed a sum of j£2oo— i>Bo for the captain, and the rest for the officers and crew, and presented the money in two beautiful purses worked by two of thd female passengers. They also opened a liberal contribution, with the view of creating a tund for the relief of families whose heads and supporters have been lost at sea, ami in compliment to the ship, as well as in commemoration of the signal mercy they experienced in her, it is to be called the " Great Western l'mul." The Great Britain is likely to become a complete wreck. Every attempt to remove the vessel has failed, owing to the boisterous weather and raging surf. A letter from the spot, written at 1 o'clock on the afternoon of Wednesday, says : — "The storm keeps increasing as the tide becomes nearly lull, and it is now accompanied by a heavy rain and spendrift, which dashes against the luck -out windows of the station-house. The surf continues ,to wash over the ship more and more violently, and she presents a truly sad spectacle. The great probability is, that her whole frame is strained and her bottom injured ; but the real facts cannot be ascertained until low water. She has still several chaincibles and anchors out astern, but they appear to slack; and as the ship lias all the morning had her forward gaffeail or fipankor not, I think it likely that all hopes of getting her off are abandoned, and tlmt the object now is to forge her on as far as possible upon the beach, in order that her position may be secure, or that, if she be broken up, the materials may be better secured. The ship rolls slightly, and has apparently altered her position. Her bow lies to the north. Her larboard quarter is most exposed to the sea." Dr. Cox on the Stranding of tur "Gui,at Britain."— On Sunday forenoon, the Rev. Dr. Cox, of America, preached at the Scotch Church, Rodneystreet, and iv the evening at the Independent Chapel, Reashaw-street, and on both occasions made special reference to the unfortunate accident to the steamer Great Britain, in which the Rev. gentleman and his daughter were passengers. Publicity having been given, through the medium of the press, lo the fact that the doctor would preach and enlarge upon this disastrous circumstance, the church aud chapel were crowded on both occasions The Rev. gentleman said, there were three matters connected with the accident which he looked upon as most providential. The first was, that out of 300 souls on board, not one was lost, not even one of the children from Vienna, whom he pitied before the casualty, and for whom he felt greater commisseralion since. The little creatures, he said, were entering upon the world without any parent to instruct them in the religious course they ought to pursue, aud, without any feeling of uukindness, he expressed a hope that tln-y might never be induced to go to America, where there was already enough of vanity without a troupe of individuals who "tripped the light f'autasiic toe." The second was, that the vessel had been guided by an almighty hand between two ledges of rocks, at an angle ol not more than five degrees ; for, he observed, that had she struck upon either ledge, her iron framework would have been shivered to pieces ; she would have formed a huge sepulchre, "and ue,"said the doctor, "would have been the corpses !" The third was, that the hull was kept in an upright position by having been stranded upon a hard sandy beach. Had she.grounded, he said, upon mud or soft sand, she would have yielded upon cither the larboard or starboard side when the tide receded, and then fatal results might have ensued during the darkness of the night. He stated, that, at the time she struck, there were about 150 of the passengers in jthe promenade saloon, and he passed a high compliment upon all of them, the ladies in particular, for he fortitude they displayed under the appalling circumstduccs. His first impression, when he felt the keel grating against Hhe sands, was to engage iv prayer, but a friend neat* him observed, that if piajer were offered up, the passengers would become ten times more alarmed than they were, by supposing that they were instantly going to the bottom. He prayed, however, in an audib.c voice, and never did a congregation petition the Throne of Grace with more earnest devotcdness than did the passengers on that eventful night. If any infidels were on board, they hushed their infidelity, and standing;, as they seemed to do, almost in the immediate pieseucc of their Maki-r, they called loudiy upon him for deli-

vcriiuce from the dangers by winch they weic burrounded. Subsequently, others of the reverend gentlemen on hoard joined in sim'lur devotional exercises. In the morning, the Doctor descended the vessel's side, by means of a ladder, and was cairied on the shoulders of the peasantry to the shore; and he said that, as he cast his eyes hack to the majestic hull of the "Great Britain," lying, as she then did, in about three feet of water, he never before, by the greatest stretih of his imagination, obtained so noble a view of the ark, as it must have rusted after the deluge upon the lofty summits of Mount Ararat, Who, he asked, could have anticipated so disastrous a calamity in nine hours and a half after they had left the docks in Liverpool, amid the rejoicings ol the public, and the booming of cannon ! lie, for his own part, thought then, that upon yesterday, he should have been addressing his beloved flock in his own church, at Brooklyn; but Piovidence willed otherwise. And this led him to allude to the feelings of his (lock, on finding; that the "Grc.it Britain 1 ' did not arrive in America at her appointed lime. Many, he said, would entertain the melancholy idea that she had been gorged in the mighty Atlantic, and that all on board had met with a watery grave The sermon in the forenoon was an exceedingly touching one, and remarkably well delivered. In the : descriptive parts the Doctor was very excellent, but in those pn&sagcs in which he ascribed the deliverance of himself and his fellow passengers to the Almighty hand which sways the world, he was more energetic than oven his years and declining strength would warrant. We understand that he butiayed no symptom 1 ; of lear at the moment of the calamity, but th it his daughter, a very beautiful young lady, who was greatly alarmed, threw her arms round bis neck, and helil there, with a fi.m determination, thar, if they were to sink, the waves should close over th,em both together.— Liverpool Albion. Statistics of "Wesleyanism. — The Wesleyan Conference territorially covers every parish in England, with 1688 ministers under its orders, 15,000 local preachers, and 30,000 leaders, stewards, and trustees) with 468,313 members of society acknowledging its sway, and perh/ips 2,000,000 hearers affording their countenance. The immense amount of their chapel and other real property has been. estimated at more than three millions sterling ; while the annual revenue of the body, from every source, is probably not much less than a million. The income of their missionary society for 1345— J was more than £112,000; in 1810, by a mighty effort, jCI7I,GS7 oT chapel debts were extinguished, and the centenary fund fell little short of a quarter of a million. The product of the weekly pence ,anii •juctitcly shillings contributed in the classes— ol ! O't. .cjily and July collections— suffices for the main- , tcji.mcc (in for greater average comfort than any other j bod\ of Christian ministers) of more than fifteen hun- , drod ministers, with their wives and families : for per- ' haps, no mamid minister receives less than an equivalent of ,£175 per annum, and perhaps none more than ' £650. Hie theological institutions at Richmond and ' JDklabuiy contain seventy-four students; the Kings- , wood and "Woodhouse-Grove schools provide for the education of two hundred pupils ; proprietary schools havo been established at Sheffield and Taunton ; the last return shows that their Sunday schools are attended by 500,000 scholars; and of the 700 day schools which it was determined to form at the close of 1 843, more than one half have been already called into existence. — Church of England Quarterly Rcviciv. The Potato Disease. — Sir, The failure of the potato crop for several years past, but move especially for the lubt two )enrs, has induced ttiany inclj.vfdua'ls, with the best intentions, to suggest various plans for remedying the evil. It is of much importance that every suggestion should be m ought before the public; for, if in ilseif of little valiu«, its publication tends to elicit others that may prove of greater impotUiiire. It is with this conviction that 1 venture to solicit a small portion of your columns for my own opinions on the subject. The idea that the disease, as it is termed, is the result of some peculiarity in the seasons, or, of errors in the lime of plant ing the tubers; or of the nature of the soil ; or of inanities employed; appears to me to be founded on too limited observations. Were any of the above causes capable of producing the failure, it would not affect the crops not only over this island and Ireland, but over the whole of Europe and Norl,h Ameiica. The seasons cannot have proved so identically the same in these countries, as to have produced a similar effect on the vegetation of the potato plant. The mode and peiiod of planting the tubers differ in different places; every variety of soil also may be supposed to exist over so extensive a surface of the globe; and it is scarcely necessary to remark, that almost every variety of manure must have been employed j and yet the result has been everywhere the same. The question then presents itself — Wltai cause is likely to operate so generally, under such divers ciicnmstances ? I reply, something connected with the economy of the plant itself, independent of climate, season, soil, or culture. Hence another question arises. What is that circums mice t I answei, the age of the potato plant. Kvery plant has a detinue term ot life; and although ciicinnslHiiccs, »s in the animal kingdom,, mil) occasionally ex*

ttt.iu mm ou^o.id its oidinar) mint, yet lliis can only occur within a moderate bound. The plant which is >aised from the seed of the fruit of any plant, is a renewal of the species; it is altogether a new individual, however closely resembling the parent from which it sprung; but a culling of a tree planted in the earth, and growing to a tree resembling that from which it was taken ; or a graft implanted upon another stock, is not a new individual, but a mere extension of the same individual ; and having its term of life limited to that of the tree of which it was a part, at whatever period of the life of that tree it was separated from it. To this circumstance we have to ascribe the loss of (he golden pippin, and some other valuable apples, whose existence is now reduced to a mere historical fact Now, the potato is truly an under-ground branch, bearing buds or germs (or, as they are usually termed, eyes) upon its surface, in the same manner as buds are borne on an aerial branch ; and the plants annually arising from the germination of. these eyes, are not more the result of a renewal of these species than the twigs annually produced from the buds on the branch of a tree. A thousand cuttings from a rosebush, or a thousand grafts from an apple-tiee, are mere portions of. the original plant, although carrying with theia a sufficient degree of vitality to maintain a separate existence after their removal. Such is the case, also, with the potato, whether planted entire or in piec. s; and if, owing to this mode of cultivation, the plant has arrived nearly at the termination of its natural life, it is not wonderful that the herb does not possess energy sum" oient to secrete enough of starch, and (hut of a quality proper to afford healthy tubeis; hence* the crop must necessarily fail, both in quantity and quality. If these remarks be correct, it is scarcely necessary to mention the /emedy. Sow the seed instead of setting the potato ; and select the best tubers produced b> the new plants in the same manner as the best apple's are selected, when apple-trees are raised from the seed ; and thus renew the cultivation of the tuber for another period. This opinion is not altogether hypothetical; the experiment has bce,n tried in Germany, and has succeeded j good, sound potatoes have been the result. 1 am, however, aware that it hat been* tried in this country, and has notsucceeded ; and I have now on my table | a dozen of potatoes, said to have been raised from seed, which are slightly diseased, lint a question here presents itself, namely, was the sued from healthy plants; for, if that was not the case, the. experiment was defective in one of its principal features. I am of opinion that healthy seed (not tubers, which are sometimes technically called' seed) should be procured from the wild potato, or at least from one that has only very lately been brought into cultivation. The life of the potatoes thus produced would run their natural term of life, and would not present any of the features of disease, or rather decay, until they hud pabsed through the tame course as their piedecessors, — I have the honor to re/naiu, &c, Anthony Todd Thomson, M.D. Summary. — The Italians keep their timefrom one to twenty-four. The Pope has ordered the clocks to be so regulated as to make only twelve houis Two Nottingham cornfactors have entered into a contract with the Midland Hail way Company to pay £1,000 a-year for tho co|i\e}anca of their corn Lord Palmerston has appointed to a clerkship in the Foreignoffice, a son of the llev. Dr. Wolff, whose recent visit to Bokhara must be fresh in the recollection of our reader* Tv» o sailors are now.at Cpuk, who were taken off the mast of a , vessel called the Rose, which had been wrecked at sea. They state the horrible fact, that a third man, one of their companions, who was' with them on 'the spar, was eaten by them, they being' drivel to that frightful extiemily by exedss of hunger ...... Eliza Collins, aged 22 years, the wife of a'private in the 40th JLVe'gt., lost her life at Wort ester,' iu giving birth to her second child, in coiisetjUence of the gross ignorance of the .midwife, and Ijor 'still more gross neglect to call in medical^sststance when the case had „ evidently baffled her own ability. Tho midwife, has been .committed for manslaughter .In Canada they, look a little into the truth of u libel before-they punish the printer. One of the magistrates brought a suit against the editor of the Western Canadian Standard for saying that he was tatticr loose for a married man and a justice. The jury returned a verdict that his character had buen damaged to the amount of one penny At this* moment, there are 100 vessels of different sizes on the stocks at Sunderiand, and two or three on uu**i average are launched daily Government lias ottered sufficient metal for a statue in bronze of the late General Nott, which it is proposed to erect by subscription at Carmarthen. — IVulc/imun, Oct. '„■s.